The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

No clue.

This is the cheapest I've found them, but not shipping until around 12/27.



I'm going to wait on Baja Designs to see what they come out with, since my original order of Squadron Sports was cancelled and being returned now.

 

Yep, that's what I was trying to pay for them through KC (265.99).

 

So BD finally squared that away huh? If you were going to be stuck with them and didn't want them then I probably would of bought them from you for what you paid with shipping.

 

Yeah they got UPS to return the before it got delivered.

 

They arrived.

Interesting the box calls them yellow. Likely a change from when they were going to use an amber lens with a white light source, which produces yellower output before changing to an amber light source and not updating the sticker labels.


The LEDs look pretty red. This isn’t powered, just illuminated via flash.


Will test them out this evening and share results.

 

My best guess is they took the standard yellow version they make, and substituted the amber emitter per special request. Just boxed them up in the same cartons that were already on hand. Looks like a cree XP diode

 

Lol thanks, but going I don’t have the resources nor funds to build a complete from scratch, DOT approved fog light. There are plenty of good options as the OP has tested.

 

Frigid?

 

Don't go down that Foghole.

 

Morimoto Amber LED SAE fogs

Output color, 599nm





Power draw: 0.64A x 13.2w = 8.5w



Output comparison to the white Morimotos:



You can see the white Morimotos are 32% brighter than the amber version, 128.7 vs 170.3 lux. A drop in output is expected for an amber light source, this is actually a fairly reasonable (good performing) one. The beam pattern is identical to the white version of the product. While the wavelength (color spectrum) output of the amber Morimotos is extremely narrow causing me not to be able to get a color temperature reading and failing to even get a CRI reading, you can see peak output is at 599nm and completely eliminates the short wavelength light found in their white version.

Of course the obvious question is how do the amber Morimotos compare to the amber KC G4s?



Output intensity measured in lux is about identical between the Morimoto amber fogs and the KC G4 amber fogs. However the KC fogs do have a much larger illuminated area coverage, giving roughly 2x the pattern area. So while output intensity measured at a single point is about the same, the KCs are putting out roughly 2x the light.



You can see in the spectrum charts above, both Morimoto amber and KC have nearly identical peak output wavelength. The chart on the left is absolute while the chart on the right is normalized for relative intensity, showing the peak intensity is almost identical. While they both have the same peak intensity, you can see the Morimotos use a much narrower spectrum output LED than KC which has a wider spectrum output. Particularly, in the chart on the left above, you can see how while the KCs peak at the same intensity as the Motimotos, the spectrum is slightly more skewed to longer wavelength. While people mention the output seems a bit red, I think this is just because the output spectrum is so narrow compared to the KC which has the same peak output intensity, but wider spectrum coverage.

So while peak output intensity measured at a single point is about the same, the KC G4s produce roughly 2x the pattern area coverage at the same peak intensity with approximately 2x the overall output (not to be confused with output intensity).

Shout out to @kustom54lighting for making this product happen, as this is a custom ordered product exclusive to them. More competition in the SAE fog market place is better for everyone.

 

Damn dude nice info.
How do the beam patterns compare to the KC? The morimoto looks pretty wide.
I guess if they haven’t changed optics, I should just go look at the white data ones :/

 

This is the most insane awesome review we have ever seen! Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

The KC is about 2x taller in pattern, the Morimotos are seemingly wider than other forward facing LEDs pods, I can get the specs for the width comparison to KC tomorrow as I have taken down the test setup for the evening.

 

Sweet write up man. Curious what would show in a true fog scenario.

 

My pleasure. Thanks for working to bring more SAE products to market for the benifit of TW!

 

Of course! Although it was a headache to get everything in motion, it’s super cool to have something no one else does.

 

Amber (long wavelength) light will refract less in fog/inclement weather. Short wavelength light refracts off fog/inclement weather so you effectively highlight the fog/rain/snow making you see the precipitation, rather than the roadway beyond it. Since amber light does not refract the same way, you see the roadway beyond the inclement weather, rather than the inclement weather itself.

 

Very true. I haven't seen a side by side shot of two distinctly different shades of amber before. I'm drawn to the darker of the two. Might have to change things up on my ride soon

 

Still Loving my KC's